Pokemon Go makes huge earnings in first month

Pokemon Go has earned over US$250 million in its first thirty days of release.

That is according to a survey of players in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany by polling company YouGov.

The makers of the game are coy about the revenue being generated by Pokemon Go. But YouGov puts the figure at US$268 million (NZ$372 million) so far.

The polling company believes the game is on track to generate more than a billion dollars in revenue this year.

To play Pokemon Go people use their smartphones to find, capture, fight and train virtual creatures. Pokemon Go is free to download, but users can pay for add-ons that help them to advance in the game.

It is an example of 'augmented reality' - where the real world is augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data.

The figure of US$268 million compares to US$125 million earned by Clash Royale in its first thirty days and US$25 million generated by Candy Crush Soda Saga.

YouGov believes Pokemon Go "has staying power and is not just a flash in the pan".

That is based on the numbers of people who are still playing the game weeks after its initial release.

YouGov says that in the United States 34.5 million adults (10 percent of the adult population) have downloaded and installed Pokemon Go since its release on July 6.

Ninety percent of people who installed the game (30.8 million people) are still using the app and played the game within the previous seven days.

Twenty nine percent of US players (almost ten million users) have spent money on in-app purchases.

More than 57 percent have spent up to US$19.99 (NZ$27.78) and another 28.5 percent (2.86 million players) spent between US$20 and US$59.99 (NZ$27.79 - NZ$83.36).

YouGov says nearly five percent (480,000) of all US players spent more than US$100 (NZ$138).

The survey data calculated that in Britain just over six million adults have downloaded PokemonGo since it was released there on July 14th. Eighty-seven percent of them (5.3 million people) are still playing the game.

Sixteen percent of British users have spent money on in-app purchases, with most paying more than the minimum 79 pence.

YouGov says it is a mistake to think Pokemon Go is just a game for young people with a number players aged over thirty-five.

But it warns there is a challenge for the game's makers.

"Crucially the people playing this game can be easily bored meaning that developers will need to innovate and push out new features if they are to keep up interest levels."

Pokemon Go is a collaboration between game developer Niantic Labs and The Pokemon Company (owner of the characters and other intellectual property).

The exact split is confidential but analysts estimate the two companies are splitting around 55 percent of the revenue.

Nintendo has a direct thirteen percent share of the revenue. But its real share is higher because it owns shares in both Niantic and The Pokemon Company.

Thirty percent of the revenue goes to Apple and Google. That is because each of them clips the ticketh when the add-ons are sold via the Apple app store or Googe Play.

YouGov's Research Director Dan Tochen says the high incidence of paid users and ongoing play among users shows that offering a new way to engage with the Pokemon franchise has paid off well.

So can other brands also make a success of augmented reality?

Mr Tochen says "Pokemon Go has two key advantages: a fan base built over almost 20 years and more than a dozen previous games, and franchise gameplay that is a natural fit for Augmeted Reality"

He says these advantages are hard to duplicate, and given Pokemon Go's first mover advantage, "we expect that only the largest franchises (think Star Wars and Harry Potter) could hope to achieve comparable success."